| Eugène de Beauharnais | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Venice, Duke of Leuchtenberg, Prince of Eichstätt | |
 Portrait of Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, Viceroy of Italy, byAndrea Appiani (1810) | |
| Viceroy of Italy | |
| Term | 5 June 1805 – 11 April 1814 |
| Monarch | Napoleon I |
| Grand Duke of Frankfurt | |
| Reign | 26 October 1813 –30 December 1813 |
| Predecessor | Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg |
| Born | 3 September 1781 Paris,France |
| Died | 21 February 1824(1824-02-21) (aged 42) Munich,Bavaria |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| House | Beauharnais |
| Father | Alexandre de Beauharnais Napoleon I (adoptive) |
| Mother | Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Signature |  |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  French First Republic First French Empire Kingdom of Italy |
| Conflicts | |
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais (French:[øʒɛnd(ə)boaʁnɛ]; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a Frenchstatesman andmilitary officer who served in theFrench Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marriage of his mother,Joséphine de Beauharnais, he was the stepson ofNapoleon Bonaparte. Under theFrench Empire, he also became Napoleon's adopted son (but not the heir to the imperial throne). He wasViceroy of theKingdom of Italy under his stepfather, from 1805 to 1814, and commanded theArmy of Italy during the Napoleonic Wars. Historians consider him one of Napoleon's most able relatives.[1]
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais was born in Paris on 3 September 1781 as the son of ViscountAlexandre de Beauharnais andMarie-Josèphe Rose Tascher de la Pagerie (future empress Josephine), both born in the French colony ofMartinique. His parents separated when Eugène was three years old. At the age of five, Eugène was entrusted to his father's care and attended various boarding schools. His father served as a general during theearly Revolutionary Wars. After losing theSiege of Mainz, he was imprisoned and executed byguillotine on 23 July 1794, a few days before thefall of Maximilien Robespierre and the end of theReign of Terror.[2]
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Eugène joined theFrench Revolutionary Army soon after his father's death and his mother's release from prison, initially serving as anorderly to GeneralLazare Hoche during theWar in the Vendée.[3] He returned to Paris on his mother's request "some time before thebattle of Quiberon", according to his memoirs,[4] and was sent back to school in order to complete his education. Neither he nor his sister Hortense was present when their mother married Napoleon Bonaparte.
After joining the1st Hussar Regiment as an assistant sub-lieutenant on 30 June 1797, Eugène served as anaide-de-camp to his stepfather in theItalian campaign. After theTreaty of Campo Formio (17 October 1797) he was sent on missions to theIonian Islands andRome. In 1798, he followed Napoleon in hiscampaign in Egypt and Syria, where he took part in theSiege of Jaffa and was wounded during theSiege of Acre.[5]
Eugène returned to France with Napoleon in the autumn of 1799, helping to bring about the reconciliation of the general and his mother, who had become estranged due to their mutual extramarital affairs. During theCoup of 18 Brumaire, he accompanied Napoleon toSaint-Cloud, where they brought theCouncil of Five Hundred into submission. When Napoleon becameFirst Consul following the coup, Eugène was appointed captain of thechasseurs à cheval of theConsular Guard.[5] He distinguished himself in the Guard's cavalry charges atBattle of Marengo, and was promoted tochef d'escadron.[5][6] In 1803 he boughtHôtel Beauharnais.
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After rising through the ranks under the Consulate, Eugène was promoted tobrigade general soon after the establishment of theEmpire in 1804. By a decree of 1 February 1805, Eugène was createdArch-Chancellor of State[5] and made a prince of France.
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As commander of theImperial Guard (successor to the Consular Guard), Eugène preceded his stepfather toMilan ahead of Napoleon's coronation asKing of Italy on 26 May 1805. Napoleon had initially intended to place his brotherJoseph on the Italian throne and then, after Joseph's refusal, his nephewNapoléon Charles, the son ofLouis Bonaparte and Eugène's sister,Hortense. However, both Joseph and Louis refused, so Napoleon placed theIron Crown upon his own head instead. During the coronation, Napoleon handed the royal ring and mantle to his stepson and on 7 June 1805 announced Eugène's appointment as Viceroy of Italy to the Italian Legislative Assembly.[7]
In 1805, theWar of the Third Coalition was to test Eugène's talents as an organizer, if not as a commander. While GeneralAndré Masséna commanded theArmy of Italy, Eugène raised a reserve army to guard the kingdom's southern border, afterNaples broke its neutrality agreement with France. After the French victory atAusterlitz, Napoleon sought to strengthenBavaria's alliance with France and arranged Eugène's marriage toPrincess Augusta of Bavaria, daughter of KingMaximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, breaking her engagement toCharles, Hereditary Prince of Baden. On 12 January 1806, Eugène was officially adopted by Napoleon. Though excluded from succession to the French Empire, on 16 February 1806, he was declaredheir presumptive to the Italian throne, in the absence of a second son of Napoleon.[5]
Over the following years, Eugène dedicated himself to the management of the Kingdom of Italy, showing himself to be an astute politician and administrator. He oversaw military works (fortification ofMantua, expansion of theRocca d'Anfo), public works (construction of roads, restoration of theVenetian Arsenal, draining of the marshes aroundVerona), and the promulgation of the Napoleoniccivil, commercial, and penal codes. After the kingdom annexedMarche from the dissolvedPapal States, in April 1808, Eugène managed to keep relations with theHoly See from breaking down and rallied the populations of the annexed areas through economic benefits.[5]
During theWar of the Fifth Coalition, Eugène was put in command of the Army of Italy with some highly competent generals likeGrenier,Charpentier, and the future marshalÉtienne MacDonald accompanying him as advisers and officers. In April 1809, he fought and lost theBattle of Sacile against the Austrian army ofArchduke John, but Eugène's troops won the rematch at theBattle of the Piave in May and theBattle of Raab in June. After theBattle of Aspern-Essling, Napoleon recalled the Army of Italy to Austria. After joining the main army on the island ofLobau in theDanube, Eugène took part in theBattle of Wagram.[8]
Napoleon considered making Eugène regent of France during theinvasion of Russia but ultimately decided against this.[9] During the campaign, Eugène again commanded the Army of Italy (IV Corps), with a total force of 80,000 men. He fought at the battles ofOstrovno,Vitebsk,Smolensk,Borodino,Maloyaroslavets,Krasnoi, and theBerezina.[3] After Napoleon and thenJoachim Murat had left the retreating army in December 1812, Eugène took command of the remnants of theGrande Armée atPoznań.[10] He led the retreat toLeipzig from January to May 1813, then served under Napoleon at theBattle of Lützen.[3][5] Eugène then returned to Italy, where he set about reorganizing his troops and preparing the defence against theAustrian Empire.[5]
Despite thedefection of Murat'sKingdom of Naples in January 1814, and pressure from his Bavarian father-in-law, Eugène refused to defect to theCoalition, while also rejecting calls to leave behind his kingdom and join Napoleon in thedefence of France. During theItalian Campaign of 1813-1814, he commanded a series of engagements in thePo Valley in order to slow down the enemy advance, which were in effect a series of organized retreats up to the riverAdige. Despite some success against the Austrians at theBattle of the Mincio River on 8 February 1814, and successive victories against theNeapolitan Army, he was beaten at the riversTaro andNure.[5] On 16 April, five days afterNapoleon's abdication of both the French and Italian thrones, Eugène signed theConvention of Schiarino-Rizzino [it] with the Austrian commanderHeinrich von Bellegarde, bringing an end to hostilities. His attempt to be crowned King of Italy failed after an insurrection in Milan on 20 April, and Eugène finally relinquished control of the kingdom in theConvention of Mantua on 23 April.[3]
After the fall of the Kingdom of Italy, Eugène retired toMunich in June 1814 at the behest of his father-in-law.[3] He soon returned to Paris on the death of his mother, where he was honourably received byLouis XVIII andAlexander I of Russia. He immediately renounced his political activity and returned to his wife's family in Bavaria. Accordingly, he remained neutral during Napoleon's return to power in theHundred Days.[5]
AsDuke of Leuchtenberg, Eugène lived his last years in Munich, managing his estates and expanding his art collection. At the same time, he provided assistance for proscripts under theBourbon Restoration, such asAntoine Marie Chamans de Lavalette, and lobbied for the alleviation of the harsh treatment imposed on Napoleon in his captivity inSaint-Helena. In 1822, Eugène's health began to deteriorate. After suffering two attacks ofapoplexy in 1823, he died on 21 February 1824 in Munich, aged 42.[5]
On 14 January 1806, two days after his adoption by Napoleon, Eugène marriedPrincess Augusta Amalia Ludovika Georgia of Bavaria (1788–1851), eldest daughter of Napoleon's ally, KingMaximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. Although a diplomatic marriage, this union would turn out to be a happy one. On 14 November 1817, his father-in-law made himDuke of Leuchtenberg and Prince ofEichstätt, with the styleRoyal Highness.
Eugène and Augusta had seven children:
On 20 December 1807, he was given the title ofPrince de Venise ("Prince of Venice"), a title created on 30 March 1806, when theVenetian Province taken from Austria in 1805 was united to Bonaparte's Kingdom of Italy.
In 1810, Napoleon used his influence overKarl von Dalberg, the Archbishop of Regensburg andGrand Duke of Frankfurt, to name Eugène as the constitutional heir to the grand duchy. Von Dalberg abdicated on 26 October 1813 due to Frankfurt's imminent conquest by the allied armies, and Eugène became nominal grand duke until Frankfurt was occupied by the allies in December of that same year.
A further imperial sinecure wasArchichancelier d'État de l'Empire de France ("Archchancellor of State of the Empire of France").
His name is inscribed on Column 24 of the Southern Pillar of theArc du Triomphe, readingBEAUHARNAIS.
Eugène de Beauharnais Born: 3 September 1781 Died: 21 February 1824 | ||
| German nobility | ||
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| New title | Duke of Leuchtenberg Prince of Eichstätt 14 November 1817 – 21 February 1824 | Succeeded by |
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| French Princes | ||
Several family members held additional titles invassal states | ||
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Confederation of the Rhine 1806–1813 |
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German Confederation.svg) 1815–1866 |
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North German Confederation.svg) 1867–1871 |
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